Building New Rides vs Updating Old Ones

Might be a big pull to enclose the whole mine ride. But enclosing the final helix could be pretty neat.

One upgrade I would like to see on Gemini is adding some kind of timing gates so that throughout the ride you can see who is winning and how far behind the losing train is. But that would only be cool if operations released the trains to make it a close race. Too many times it seems they release them too far apart and it does not make for a good race, even though the ride is still fun who doesn't love the hand slapping, dollar bill game or rowing to make your train go faster!? Operations does try and it just doesn't work out every time. Add some sings that light up winner at the end, because who truly is the winner or shall I ask where is the "true" finish line, is it the final brake run or who pulls into the station first? Think it would be cool. Gemini still to this day never disappoints, just way more fun when you have a close race.

As for old Corkscrew, what could really be done to make it better? As Cartwright said "Corkscrew is what it is. An old Arrow looper". It is what it is.

Blue Streak is well Blue Streak, a classic, just wish they would bring back the old bench style seating! Who misses being thrown around your seat as you hit all the bunny hops! Or being slammed into some you may or may not love sitting next to you! Got to keep some classics as they are, just provide some TLC here and there.

Mine ride, whatever happened to using the old blue and red third trains from Gemini? See pic below. It would help us tall guys enjoy it more! If not then go back to a three train ride operation on Gemini! Loved it when they did, there was never much of a wait if any at all even on the busiest of days!

Then again Mine Ride takes up quit a bit of space, and if they would combine it with what's going on by the old SRF and Town hall, could be something special with all that land.

Just having fun with the imagination; there is a little stretch run on Mine Ride just before the ride enters the "toilet bowl" (the ride slows just before entering it); I always thought it would be neat for the train to be entering a "mine" (covered....with plenty of fog...maybe a fun explosion effect) at that point.

I agree with you on the old classic trains on the Blue Streak with just the buzz bar. I miss the old days when the train was going out of the station and the bars weren't even down all the way!

IIRC, ACE delisted Blue Streak when the original trains were replaced circa 1994 and the manual brakes were replaced with automatics. I, too, still miss the original rolling stock.

Always found it weird they would delist something for being upgraded. Like “oh sorry your coaster has a better safety system”

Maybe you’re missing the point around historic preservation. Upgrading and remodeling something may add certain and necessary values but it always takes away from the historic value.

Those ACE plaques honor rides that continue to woperate the way they were originally intended. As time marched and safety concerns grew paramount there were many rides that lost their status. And yes, rides that operated the same way for decades upon decades.

I bet I clocked 500 rides on CP’s Blue Streak before it was altered. Put me in the camp that misses the buzzbars, the benches and the split load/unload. It was sit, push up, pull back and go. However those sled brakes were trouble, and wouldn’t allow operation in even the slightest rain, so be careful what you ache for.

ACE was okay with the 1994 modifications (flush loading, pinch brakes, computer) but yanked the Coaster Classic designation when the trains were modified with the ratchet lap bars, headrests and seat dividers.

As for Mine Ride, it seems they've actually tried to make Adventure Express more like the Mine Ride by stealing one of Mine Ride's trains and parking it in the Adventure Express infield. Apparently the Gemini train experiment failed, but Premier Rides has built replacement trains for an ancient Arrow mine train; those are running on Trailblazer at Hersheypark.

Finally, Cedar Point does re-track parts of the steel coasters as needed. Usually they replace the rails, but on Magnum they once replaced the entire turnaround with track made with thicker steel and a larger backbone. And please, don't touch those trains. The "updates" you would get would most likely be such things as crotch bumps, tighter lap bars, and high seat backs. Stuff Magnum does not need.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

May I speak for everyone and say “Dave, we sure are glad and grateful that RideMan is back with us.”?

It’s always interesting stepping into historic buildings and seeing sprinklers and other systems sticking out of the walls. It’s like the old riddle about the ship being replaced plank by plank and when does it become not original. I can see the point about the train modifications being the breaking point for historic value. Electric braking systems don’t really change the ride experience like lap bars and headrests do.